diff --git a/internal/daemon/vm_disk.go b/internal/daemon/vm_disk.go
index 7cb53ee..660676d 100644
--- a/internal/daemon/vm_disk.go
+++ b/internal/daemon/vm_disk.go
@@ -110,32 +110,26 @@ func (s *VMService) ensureWorkDisk(ctx context.Context, vm *model.VMRecord, imag
 		}
 		return workDiskPreparation{ClonedFromSeed: true}, nil
 	}
+	// No seed: build an empty work disk. `-E root_owner=0:0` stamps
+	// inode 2 (the fs root, which becomes /root inside the guest) as
+	// root:root:0755 up front. sshd's StrictModes walks that dir's
+	// ownership and mode, so getting it right from mkfs means the
+	// authsync step can just write authorized_keys without any
+	// repair pass.
+	//
+	// Unlike the pre-refactor flow there is no "copy /root from the
+	// base rootfs" step. The no-seed path is the degraded fallback
+	// (the common case has a work-seed artifact and hits the branch
+	// above). Dropping the copy eliminates 4 sudo call sites — mount
+	// base ro, mount work rw, sudo cp -a, flattenNestedWorkHome —
+	// at the cost of losing default distro dotfiles on no-seed VMs.
+	// Users who need those should either rebuild the image with a
+	// work-seed (the documented path) or land them via [[file_sync]].
 	vmCreateStage(ctx, "prepare_work_disk", "creating empty work disk")
 	if _, err := s.runner.Run(ctx, "truncate", "-s", strconv.FormatInt(vm.Spec.WorkDiskSizeBytes, 10), vm.Runtime.WorkDiskPath); err != nil {
 		return workDiskPreparation{}, err
 	}
-	if _, err := s.runner.Run(ctx, "mkfs.ext4", "-F", vm.Runtime.WorkDiskPath); err != nil {
-		return workDiskPreparation{}, err
-	}
-	dmDev := s.vmHandles(vm.ID).DMDev
-	if dmDev == "" {
-		return workDiskPreparation{}, fmt.Errorf("vm %q: DM device not in handle cache", vm.ID)
-	}
-	rootMount, cleanupRoot, err := system.MountTempDir(ctx, s.runner, dmDev, true)
-	if err != nil {
-		return workDiskPreparation{}, err
-	}
-	defer cleanupRoot()
-	workMount, cleanupWork, err := system.MountTempDir(ctx, s.runner, vm.Runtime.WorkDiskPath, false)
-	if err != nil {
-		return workDiskPreparation{}, err
-	}
-	defer cleanupWork()
-	vmCreateStage(ctx, "prepare_work_disk", "copying /root into work disk")
-	if err := system.CopyDirContents(ctx, s.runner, filepath.Join(rootMount, "root"), workMount, true); err != nil {
-		return workDiskPreparation{}, err
-	}
-	if err := flattenNestedWorkHome(ctx, s.runner, workMount); err != nil {
+	if _, err := s.runner.Run(ctx, "mkfs.ext4", "-F", "-E", "root_owner=0:0", vm.Runtime.WorkDiskPath); err != nil {
 		return workDiskPreparation{}, err
 	}
 	return workDiskPreparation{}, nil
diff --git a/internal/system/ext4.go b/internal/system/ext4.go
index 70eb902..8c9ebdc 100644
--- a/internal/system/ext4.go
+++ b/internal/system/ext4.go
@@ -85,37 +85,23 @@ func WriteExt4FileOwned(ctx context.Context, runner CommandRunner, imagePath, gu
 	return debugfsScript(ctx, runner, imagePath, &script)
 }
 
-// SetExt4Ownership adjusts an existing inode's uid/gid/mode in a
-// single debugfs batch. Does not check whether the path exists —
-// callers are expected to have just created it, or to know it's
-// already there.
-func SetExt4Ownership(ctx context.Context, runner CommandRunner, imagePath, guestPath string, mode os.FileMode, uid, gid int) error {
-	escaped, err := escapeDebugfsGuestPath(guestPath)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	// debugfs exposes two spellings for mode edits: `set_inode_field
-	// <path> mode 0<octal>` which overwrites the full i_mode word
-	// (requiring callers to bake in the file-type nibble), and `sif
-	// <path> mode 0<octal>` which takes a permission-only value and
-	// preserves the existing type bits. We take the permission bits
-	// from the caller, so `sif` is the right verb.
-	var buf bytes.Buffer
-	fmt.Fprintf(&buf, "sif %s mode 0%o\n", escaped, uint32(mode.Perm())&0o7777)
-	fmt.Fprintf(&buf, "set_inode_field %s uid %d\n", escaped, uid)
-	fmt.Fprintf(&buf, "set_inode_field %s gid %d\n", escaped, gid)
-	return debugfsScript(ctx, runner, imagePath, &buf)
-}
-
 // EnsureExt4RootPerms sets the filesystem root inode (inode <2>,
-// which is what `/` resolves to) to the given mode + owner. sshd's
-// StrictModes inside the guest walks the home directory's ownership;
-// the work disk is mounted at /root in the guest and its root inode
-// is /root as far as sshd is concerned. Default-safe value: 0755
-// root:root.
+// which is what `/` resolves to) to the given directory mode + owner.
+// sshd's StrictModes inside the guest walks the home directory's
+// ownership; the work disk is mounted at /root in the guest, so its
+// root inode is /root as far as sshd is concerned. Default-safe
+// value: 0755 root:root.
+//
+// Note on debugfs mode semantics: `set_inode_field <path> mode N`
+// OVERWRITES the full i_mode word — it does NOT preserve the type
+// nibble. Passing just the permission bits (e.g. 0755) would reset
+// the root inode to a regular-file shape, and the next kernel mount
+// would fail with "Structure needs cleaning." The constant ORed
+// below restores the S_IFDIR type bits explicitly.
 func EnsureExt4RootPerms(ctx context.Context, runner CommandRunner, imagePath string, mode os.FileMode, uid, gid int) error {
+	fullMode := ext4ModeDirectory | (uint32(mode.Perm()) & 0o7777)
 	var script bytes.Buffer
-	fmt.Fprintf(&script, "sif <2> mode 0%o\n", uint32(mode.Perm())&0o7777)
+	fmt.Fprintf(&script, "set_inode_field <2> mode 0%o\n", fullMode)
 	fmt.Fprintf(&script, "set_inode_field <2> uid %d\n", uid)
 	fmt.Fprintf(&script, "set_inode_field <2> gid %d\n", gid)
 	return debugfsScript(ctx, runner, imagePath, &script)
diff --git a/internal/system/ext4_test.go b/internal/system/ext4_test.go
index 26cf2e7..3e23bb5 100644
--- a/internal/system/ext4_test.go
+++ b/internal/system/ext4_test.go
@@ -285,9 +285,13 @@ func TestEnsureExt4RootPerms_UsesRootInodeLiteral(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("EnsureExt4RootPerms: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	// Must address inode 2 — the ext4 root directory.
-	if !strings.Contains(capturedScript, "sif <2> mode 0755") {
-		t.Fatalf("script missing root-inode mode line:\n%s", capturedScript)
+	// Must address inode 2 — the ext4 root directory — with the
+	// FULL i_mode word (S_IFDIR | 0755 = 040755). debugfs's
+	// set_inode_field doesn't preserve the type nibble, so passing
+	// just the permission bits (0755) would reset the root inode
+	// to regular-file shape and break the next kernel mount.
+	if !strings.Contains(capturedScript, "set_inode_field <2> mode 040755") {
+		t.Fatalf("script missing root-inode mode line with S_IFDIR+0755:\n%s", capturedScript)
 	}
 	if !strings.Contains(capturedScript, "set_inode_field <2> uid 0") {
 		t.Fatalf("script missing root-inode uid line:\n%s", capturedScript)